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Intimate Looks

Like almost no other institution in Europe and for centuries already, the Kunsthaus Zürich is linked to private collections: approximately three-fourths of the important art collections with their many masterpieces stem from generous donations. The origins of numerous long-term loans go back to well-established, often decade-long friendships and many important foundations have put their possessions under the guardianship of the Kunsthaus. During this year, three exhibitions will illuminate private collecting from different points of view. One eccentric and to-date almost unknown exhibition, which we present to you within the context of the Zürcher Festspiele, is dedicated to the themes of physicalness and sexuality. The collector who amassed these works of art - a sharp minded and clear eyed film director - remains in the background, allowing us with the stringent selection of pieces to garner first glimpses of the unusual basis of this private collection. During the course of the summer, two further collections will present other aspects of collecting with the donation of a large lot of works by John Waters and a precious collection of Dutch artworks.

First of all ‘Europa’: no matter the extensive territories, the complex society models and the ever-present questions as to the concept of unity within Europe, in the end, the many cultural references as well as the relationships between the countries and the European landscape are what connects. Our exhibition, conceived by Cathérine Hug in close collaboration with the Austrian writer Robert Menasse, addresses utopias, dreams, and realities in art. Over one hundred works of art by roughly sixty artists ask questions and postulate exciting as well as stimulating theses.

Lastly ‘Japan’: last year’s long-planned and logistically demanding excursion to Tokyo and Kobe of some seventy chef-d’oeuvres of the Kunsthaus collection was a great success and has provided us with many new impressions. Together with you, we are looking forward to the return of our Kunsthaus collection with its many masterpieces and, as of June, to its new presentation in its entirety at the Heimplatz.